Accessories for hairdos and articles of apparel



Dec. 12, 1967 I H. L. SLOAN 3,357,070

ACCESSORIES FOR HAI RDOS AND ARTICLES OF APPAREL Filed March 11, 1966 INVENTOR HARRIET LSLOAN United States Patent 3,357,070 ACCESSORIES FOR HAIRDOS AND ARTICLES OF APPAREL Harriet L. Sloan, 1204 Riverside Ave., Streator, Ill. 61364 Filed Mar. 11, 1966, Ser. No. 533,469 3 Claims. (Cl. 24-255) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE There is disclosed a flexible disk-like sheet member having a plurality of slits extending radially from a point cen- This invention relates to an accessory device and more particularly to a device for clasping pony tails or articles of wearing apparel and the like to hold or retain the same in a desired condition or position.

Various types of hairdressing accessories or devices have been proposed for forming hair into a pony tail or the like, and various forms of rings, ties and the like have been proposed for holding articles of wearing apparel such as head or neck scarfs in a desired position. An object of the present invention, however, is to provide a simple and inexpensive accessory device that not only serves as a hairdressing accessory for forming a pony tail and holding it in proper shape and position, but is also useful, for clasping articles of wearing apparel and the like to form the same into novel shapes and hold or retain the same in a desired condition or position.

A further object is to provide an accessory device of the above character that may be ornamental as well as useful, and which is readily attached and detached without the need of any buttons, hooks, ties or similar devices.

A further object is to provide such an accessory device which firmly grips or clasps the hair or other article to hold it in the desired position or condition without the use of teeth, pins, clips or the like that might damage the fabric of the apparel.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing which illustrates certain preferred embodiments of the invention and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the basic structure of the accessory device;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the use of the device as a hairdressing accessory;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing the accessory with the pony tail of FIG. 2 clasped therein;

FIG. 4 is a similar view showing how the accessory can be flexed to assist in its detachment;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating the use of the accessory in a clasp for a head scarf;

FIG. 6 illustrates the use of the accessory with a neck scarf;

FIG. 7 illustrates the use of the accessory as a tie for gloves; and

FIG. 8 illustrates the use of the accessory for forming a handbag or the like.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 1, the accessory device 10 comprises a sheet-like 3,357,070 Patented Dec. 12, 1967 member 12 which is of generally circular or disk-like shape and is provided with a plurality of slits 14. The slits 14 extend radially from a point 16 located substantially centrally of the member 12 and are cut entirely through the member 12 to provide a plurality of triangul'arly shaped fingers 18 extending towards the central point 16. The member 12 is cut or formed from a sheet of plastic or like material having such rigidity and flexibility that the fingers 18 can be readily bent but tend to flex backwardly into the plane of the member 12 upon release of an external bending force thereby firmly gripping or clasping a strand of hair or other article inserted through the disk without the use of any teeth, pins, clips or the like that might damage or injure fabric material.

The strength of the member 12 and the flexibility of the fingers 18 are also such that the fingers may be repeatedly flexed or bent so that the accessory device can be reused many times without losing its gripping function and action. The flexibility of the member 12 is also preferably such that the member can flex to a saucer-like shape as illustrated in FIG. 3 when a pony tail 19 or other object is inserted therethrough. This flexibility further permits the member 12 and fingers 18 to be flexed in a reverse direction as illustrated in FIG. 4 to assist in the detachment of the member and withdrawal of the object re turned therein. The member 12 may also have a scalloped or other edge as illustrated at 20 in FIG. 2 to give it an ornamental design, and it may be decorated as illustrated at 22 in FIG. 6, or it may have a solid color.

As above set forth, the invention has as one of its prin cipal objects the provision of an accessory device for forming and holding a pony tail of hair. Such use, .as above described, is illustrated in FIGS. 2-4 of the drawing. A further important feature of the invention, however, is to provide an accessory device that is also useful as a clasp for articles of wearing apparel and the like. Such use is illustrated, by way of example, in FIGS. 5-8 of the drawing.

In FIG. 5, there is shown a head scarf 50 which is secured and held in position by the accessory device 10 of the invention. The ends 52 of the scarf may be shaped and retained in any desired condition by holding member 10. In FIG. 6, the accessory 10 comprising the member 12 is shown as holding the ends of a neck scarf, the ends 12 of which are shown as folded in a distinctive manner. FIG. 7 illustrates a pair of gloves 70 fastened together by the accessory 10 of the invention, thus providing a ready means to store matching gloves in a drawer, pocket book, coat or the like. FIG. 8 illustrates a novel use of the invention in which a scarf or large handkerchief can be formed into a handbag or the like, it being only necessary to fold the fabric into a suitable shape and draw the ends 82 through the member 12 of accessory 10. In this use of the accessory, for example, a scarf or the like could be shaped for sale in the form of a handbag with the device of the invention providing a bonus item in the nature of a hairdressing accessory, or the owner of the hairdressing accessory can use it to form handbags of different ornamental designs and shapes for use with different dresses and the like. There has thus been provided a simple, inexpensive and ornamental accessory device for forming and holding pony tails of hair, for retaining articles of wearing apparel in distinctive shapes, and for making decorative and unique handbags or the like, and which is readily attached and detached without injury to fabric material clasped thereby.

While preferred embodiments and uses of the invention have been set forth, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these specific amendments and uses and is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

It is claimed:

1. An accessory device for forming and retaining hairdos and articles of apparel in predetermined configuration and position comprising a sheet-like member of flexible plastic-like material, there being a plurality of slits extending through the material and projecting radially from a point located substantially centrally of said member, said slits providing a plurality of substantially triangularly shaped coplanar fingers having their apexes at said point, and such plastic-like material having a flexibility such that said fingers firmly grasp an object when inserted through said member while the member is bent in one direction and permitting ready removal of said object from said member by bending of said member in the opposite direction causing the fingers to project in an opposite direction.

2. An accessory device as set forth in claim 1 in which said fingers are of such size and dimensions as to grasp a pony tail of hair.

3. An accessory device as set forth in claim 2 in which said fingers are of such size and dimensions as also to grasp the free ends of an article of wearing apparel inserted through said member While the member is bent in said one direction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,112,477 3/ 1938 Brownfield 2430.5 X 2,818,870 1/1958 Francis 13246 2,975,788 3/1961 Ardelyan 132-46 3,170,213 2/1965 Thomas 24-255 FOREIGN PATENTS 684,419 4/ 1964 Canada.

429,075 1/ 1948 Italy.

384,453 2/ 1965 Switzerland.

DONALD A. GRIFFIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ACCESSORY DEVICE FOR FORMING AND RETAINING HAIRDOS AND ARTICLES OF APPAREL IN PREDETERMINED CONFIGURATION AND POSITION COMPRISING A SHEET-LIKE MEMBER OF FLEXIBLE PLASTIC-LIKE MATERIAL, THERE BEING A PLURALITY OF SLITS EXTENDING THROUGH THE MATERIAL AND PROJECTING RADIALLY FROM A POINT LOCATED SUBSTANTIALLY CENTRALLY OF SAID MEMBER, SAID SLITS PROVIDING A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY TRIANGULARLY SHAPED COPLANAR FINGERS HAVING THEIR APEXES AT SAID POINT, AND SUCH PLASTIC-LIKE MATERIAL HAVING A FLEXIBILITY SUCH THAT SAID FINGERS FIRMLY GRASP AN OBJECT WHEN INSERTED THROUGH SAID MEMBER WHILE THE MEMBER IS BENT IN ONE DIRECTION AND PERMITTING READY REMOVAL OF SAID OBJECT FROM SAID MEMBER BY BENDING OF SAID MEMBER IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION CAUSING THE FINGERS TO PROJECT IN AN OPPOSITE DIRECTION. 